Love isn't blind, it's just in another world
by DarlingAngelthewriter
Summary: Samantha and Jessica are two priestess of Japan.One day they discover a scroll and are sucked into the book.A story of love,humor,Drama and tons of adventure along with many twist and turns.This story will keep you off the chair laughing.Nuriko/TasukiXOOC
1. Chapter 1

Samantha, a girl with long brown hair and a long pink traditional seven-layer kimono sits on the ground in one of the buildings in her temple. She sits in front of a townsperson as they talk.

"So tell me, what can I help you with, ?" Samantha says as her green eyes watch him fiddle his fingers.

"Well High Priestess Haruno, I hold this anger for someone who use to be my friend. How do I forget?" He replies.

The High Priestess thinks for a minute before replying," First off I don't believe you can ever forgive. You may be able to forget. The trick is to decide to move on to the next part of your life."

The man nods in agreement before a shiver goes down her spin and she looks out her temple doors.

"Mrs. Haruno? , is something wrong?" The man asks.

Samantha turns her attention back to the man as she responds, "Um… It's noting, why don't we continue this some other time? I have to go take care of something."

They both stand up, bow to each other, before Samantha shows the man the exit. Once the man was gone, Samantha turns around and heads out the back door to a small little shrine, which is not open to public, just the high priestess, Samantha walks inside the small shrine to see a scroll lying in the middle of the floor.

Samantha walks up to the scroll, bends over to pick it up before she finally opens it, and reads it.

At the same time across town…

"Wow… It's extremely hot…"

Jessica wiped her brow as she watched her karate class practice as a group.

"Alright, I want to see your best kicks and I want to hear you best, kaya!"

"Kiya!" the class says in unison as they kick the air.

The students are boys and girls in the ages of 14 to17. They are all wearing white karate suits with white belts. Jessica is wearing her priestess outfit which is red pants with a white yukata. The yukata has long sleeves, but the sleeves are pinned to her shoulders because of the heat. There is a fan blowing air from the hallway in the doorway and the sliding door leading to the courtyard is open to let in wind.

After several minutes of practicing, Jessica separates everyone into groups of two so they can practice their self –defense moves. She walks around the room, giving helpful hints here and there, and stops at her last pair. It is a boy and a girl. The boy easily overpowers the girl several times, knocking her to the ground.

"Raya-chan..!" Jessica calls to the girl. Stands and faces Jessica.

"Yes, Priestess Mikage?" Raya asks.

"What's the matter? Normally you wipe the floor with your opponent," Jessica says as she crosses her arms.

Raya bows and says, "Forgive me, my lady, but I am not well today."

"Then why are you here? Why don't you go home and rest? I'll place Takeda in a different group," Jessica says as concern covers her features.

"No, I have to beat Takeda-san! I have to prove myself!" Raya says as her flushed face turns angry.

"What good are you if you're sick, Raya? Now, I want you to get some rest before you faint. Please, for your sake," Jessica says as she places a hand on Raya's shoulder.

Raya sighs and says, "Yes, Priestess Mikage. I apologize for yelling. I'll be here early on Friday."

Jessica smiles and says, "Just be careful on your way home, Raya. Dismissed…"

Raya bows to Jessica and leaves.

"Takeda, go to Ash's group, "Jessica says as she points.

"Yes, ma'am!" Takeda says as he bows.

Jessica smiles as she watches him go. Suddenly, Jessica's eyes widen as she senses some sort of energy coming from somewhere on the temple's grounds. It seems like from the storage room…

"Ichigo, take over from here. Have everyone line up again and do our closing moves. Everyone be careful on your way home and good job today! You all did well," Jessica says to her top student and entire class.

A boy with blue spiky hair and a red belt comes to the front, bows to Jessica, and turns to the class.

"Ready, fall in…!" Ichigo yells.

Everyone lines up in front of him.

"Ready, face…! Ichigo yells.

Everyone turns to look at Jessica.

"1, 2, 3 what are we!?" Ichigo asks.

"Motivated, motivated, downright motivated! Who!? I want to hurt somebody? Who?! I want to slap somebody! You sock it to me! You sock it to me! Ah_Snap!" The class sits in unison.

"Thank you! Dismissed..!" Jessica says with a grin.

Everyone bows to her and starts to get ready to leave.

Jessica turns off the fan and shuts the front doors once everyone is gone. She walks out the back door and locks the door after her. The wind blows her long brown hair as she walks toward the old shed in the backyard.

"Such a strange feeling. I wonder what it is…" Jessica thinks as she opens the door to the shed. She goes to the back and finds the source.

A thick red scroll lies on the floor and she reads it…

At the same time, the girls read the scrolls...

The guards at the palace gates turn to the sound of galloping horses and see two girls on horses riding at5 quick speeds toward them.

"Stop! Who are you and what business do you have at the palace? Hey, stop!" yells one of the guards.

The two girls don't slow down and run straight passed the guards. They ride around inside the palace gates, as the guards chase them.

As they run from the guards, a few yards away Miaka, Hotohori, Tasuki, Tamahome, and Nuriko were hanging out in front of a building. The two girls came riding up and stop in front of them. Miaka and the others stare as they get off the horses and begin to walk up to them. The people get in front of Miaka to protect her. Miaka's eyes widen as she quickly walks over to them and gets on her knees and bows.

"My ladies…" Miaka says.

Everyone looks from Miaka to the two girls.

Hotohori walks up beside her asking, "Miaka, why are you bowing to these girls?"

Miaka looks up at him and responds, "These two girls are High Priestesses of two shrines. They are well known in my world. They are protectors over the region their temples are located. What are you doing? Bow and show some respect!"

Everyone nods as they quickly bow.

Samantha says, "Okay, you're good. Can you tell us where we are?"

Miaka nods as she responds, "You're in another world, My Lady."

Samantha and Jessica look at each other in shock then look back at Miaka. Jessica hands her horse's reigns to Samantha before walking over to Miaka.

"Stand up; all of you. You seem to have some idea of what is going on. Who are you?" Jessica asks Miaka.

Miaka takes on step forward before answering, "My name is Yuki Miaka, and I'm the Priestess over this land. This is ancient China. Originally, I'm from Japan, but I was pulled into the Book of the Four Gods, just like you two apparently. I'm sort of confused though because I thought Yui and I were only able to come here from our world."

Samantha comes into the conversation by saying, "Well, it looks like you two weren't alone because here we are!"

Jessica smiles as she nods in agreement before saying, "Well, now the question remains: Where are we going to stay until we figure out how to get home? We have no idea where the inns are or where to go."

Hotohori steps forward as he says, "Well, any friend of Miaka's is a friend of mine. I insist you stay here at the palace. We have extra rooms available at any time. Moreover, you'll have protection. You are High Priestesses aren't you?"

A big smile appears on Samantha's face as she shouts, "Yay! Jessy, we now have a place to sleep! Now, to plot the next move! Like checkers or chess!"

Jessica glares at Samantha as her eyes twitch as she replies darkly, "I'm going to kill you!"

Samantha's eyes widen as she makes a run for it with Jessica on her trail. They run around until Samantha ran up to Nuriko and jumped on him wrapping her arms and legs around his neck and waist before she says, "Save me, please!"

Nuriko wraps his arms around her in confusion as he slightly blushes and says, "Don't hide behind me; I'm not going to protect you!"

Jessica's eyes twitch as she says, "Samantha, don't hide behind him! You don't even know him!"

Samantha turns her head to face Jessica as she replies, "So, I don't care! I know as long as I hold onto him you won't hurt me!"

"Dang it… You lucky crap head," Jessica says as she glares and points at her.

Samantha cocks her head to the side as she replies, "Um, you do know we're priestesses, right?"

Jessica ignores her as she continues to glare at Samantha.

"She's not listening," Miaka points out.

Samantha drops her head as she says sadly, "I know."

….at sun down…..

"You seriously didn't have to do this..!" Jessica says as she is overwhelmed by the huge banquet placed in front of her and Samantha.

Samantha nods in agreement as she says, "Yeah, this really is a lot!"

Samantha's stomach growls as she looks at the food and lets her head drop as she holds her stomach from pain and embarrassment.

"You do know that the food isn't just for you. It's for the rest of us, too!" Tasuki says with a smirk.

Nuriko punches him, causing Tasuki to slam face first into the wall.

"What did you do that for!?" Tasuki asks Nuriko angrily.

"Because you're being obnoxious!" Nuriko replies before continuing, "Ignore Tasuki, he's a bit of a hothead."

Samantha waves her hand in front of her as she replies, "Oh, don't worry; I will. Jessica is a hothead as well."

Samantha giggles as Jessica's mouth drops as she replies, "I am not!"

"Yeah huh!" Samantha says.

"Nuh uh!" Jessica says.

They continue this for three minutes before Tasuki gets angry from the arguing.

"Will you two shut up!?" Tasuki yells.

Tears begin to form in both girls' eyes as Tasuki begins to regret yelling at them.

"Nice going, Tasuki! Now they're going to cry!" Tamahome says as he leans into Tasuki's shoulder.

Nuriko punches Tasuki once more causing him to fall anime style on the floor. Tears are about to fall down the girls' cheeks but when rice balls are sat in front of them, their eyes light up.

"Rice balls; alright!" they say in unison.

The girls reach for the rice balls at the same time, shoving each other aside in attempt to get their desired rice balls.

"Move!" Jessica says.

"No, you move!" Samantha replies.

"I want that rice ball!" Jessica yells.

"No, I want that rice ball!" Samantha yells back.

As the two girls push and shove for the same rice ball, Nuriko reaches over and takes the rice ball that the girls were fighting over. The girl's eyes get big and glossy with sadness as they watched Nuriko hold the rice ball up to his mouth.

He looks at both of them before saying, "It's just a rice ball; not the end of the world."

The girl's eyes stay sad, causing Nuriko to sigh in defect as he splits the rice ball in half and gives it to the girls. Jessica grabbed the biggest half of the rice ball, smiling victoriously, before Nuriko gives Samantha the other half. She takes the rice ball and gives him a warm smile as she thanks him.

"Yeah, yeah. I still don't get what the big deal is. It's just a rice ball," Nuriko replies.

Samantha places the rice ball in her mouth, chews it and swallows it before she replies, "The big deal is we wanted the rice ball, you had it, you could have eaten it, but you didn't. You shared it with us. That is a big deal."

"It's just a stupid rice ball," Nuriko replies while shoving food into his mouth.

Jessica looks from Nuriko to Samantha a few times before saying, "Oh, what's going on here!?"

"What? We're just being friendly towards each other. It's better than being hostile, right Tasuki!?"

Taski looks up at everyone with a mouthful of food as he mumbles a complaint and continues eating.

Jessica's eye's glitter as she replies, "Ah, look at the two love birds!"

Samantha's mouth drops as she begins to laugh nervously while saying, "What? Ah! We're not…"

Samantha is interrupted by Nuriko leaning into Jessica while saying, "Now we just got to find you someone, don't we?"

Jessica blushes as Samantha claps her hands together happily saying, "Yeah, nice one!"

Miaka comes into the conversation happily saying, "Yeah, we could set her up with Tasuki!"

Jessica's face turns red from anger as Samantha continues, "Yeah, a hothead for a hothead!"

Nuriko replies, "Oh look, she's blushing!"

Jessica's face turns even redder as she yells, "I'm not blushing! My face is red from anger, and for the last time I'm not a hothead!"

Everyone laughs before they continue eating. Later that night Hotohori shows the two girls their room. Hotohori stops at a door and opens it to reveal Jessica's room. She walks in and there is a bed with curtain around it, like a canopy, to the right. There is a nightstand beside it with a candle lantern. To the left is a closet with a changing panel beside it that she can change behind. There's a mirror next to the door and a window across from the door. Jessica notices a green plant off to the corner near the window.

"Wow, nice and cozy!" Jessica says as she runs to the bed and plops down on it.

"Oh my god! It's just a plant!" Samantha says angrily as she rolls her eyes.

Jessica gets an anime sweat drop as she says, "I meant the whole room not just the plant…"

Samantha puts two fingers against her right ear as she turns to Jessica saying,"Sorry, what? I was taking an order."

Jessica's anime sweat drop bursts as her eyes appear to be 'x's.

Hotohori and Samantha laugh as they continue down the hallway.

"Wait for me! I wanna see your room, Sam!" Jessica calls as she runs after them.

Hotohori stops at another room and opens the door. The room looks the same as Jessica's.

Jessica looks around the room before taking a deep breath and pausing before she says, "It's the same as mine."

Samantha smiles happily as she says, "Yeah, neat! I love it!"

Samantha walks into the room and jumps in the air doing three turns before landing on her bed and saying, "Yay, now if you don't mind, I would like to change into something else."

"Help yourself to the clothes in the closet. Each room has a set of women's and men's clothes," Hotohori says as he motions towards the closet.

"Yay!" Samantha says as she runs into the closet.

Hotohori chuckles and turns to leave.

"I'll be out exploring, Sam!" Jessica yells to Samantha as she follows Hotohori.

Jessica follows Hotohori silently as she looks around humming to herself.

"By the way, why are you following me?" Hotohori asks.

Jessica laughs and says, "I have nothing better to do. I'm the type of person who can't sit still for too long or I stay muttering strange things."

Hotohori looks at her strangely and says, "I see. Well, you should try going to bathe. It may prove to be quite refreshing."

She looks thoughtful for a moment and says, "Okay. Thanks for the idea! See you in the morning, Emperor-dude!"

"You know, you can call me Hotohori," he says.

Jessica winks as she says, "Yeah, well, I prefer Emperor-dude!"

She runs off leaving Hotohori staring after her confused.

Jessica runs into her room and into the closet.

Her eyes sparkle as she says, "Wow, so many clothes…"

She grabs a white robe and walks behind the changing panel. She changes into the robe and puts on house shoes she had found in the closet. She puts her clothes on her bed and walks out of her room.

"I forgot to ask where the wash room is!" Jessica says as she walks around the palace.

She walks around a corner and bumps into someone. Whoever she had bumped into had caught her and her face is in their chest.

Jessica looks up saying, "Thank you; I'm sorry."

A blush spreads across her cheeks when she realizes she had bumped into Tasuki. He looks down at her and blushes as well.

"Um, do you mind?" he asks.

She realizes she was still holding onto his shirt and he had already let her go.

"Oops, my bad!" Jessica says as she stands up straight and backs off.

Tasuki clears his throat as he crosses his arms saying, "What are you lost or something?"

She laughs as she rubs the back of her head saying, "Actually, I kind of am. Hotohori mentioned taking a bath and I forgot to ask where. Do you know?"

Tasuki laughs and says, "It's just around the corner. I just left from there so it's free. There are a lot of washrooms though, so you could go find those, but I don't even know where the others are. I use this one because this is the only I can remember."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, and I'm sorry about bumping into you like that. I was trying to remember if I had been this way or not," Jessica says as she smiles and walks around him.

She hadn't noticed he was only wearing a pair of blue pants until he mentioned he had just gotten out of the bath.

"Well, if you need anything, my room is just down the hall from yours and Samantha's," Tasuki says as he walks off.

"Thanks again," Jessica calls after him as she turns the corner.

Jessica finds the washroom and enters it. There are four doors in this room and they're all empty. She smiles as she goes to the last one and enters. The bath is already drawn and the small room is filled with steam from the warm water. There is a tiny window on the wall with wooden bars to keep small animals out, and there is a shelf with towels on the right. Jessica undresses and hangs the robe on the hook, and she gets in the water with a sigh.

Samantha is going through the closet trying to find something to sleep in.

She finds a big white t-shirt and grabs it to put on, forgetting to us the changing panel. Samantha takes off her clothes, leaving only a bra and panties on. Once they're off, she puts the shirt on over her head.

Nuriko walks through the door saying, "Hey I forgot to tell you…"

He looks at her and quickly turns around covering one side of his face.

"Don't you know your suppose to change behind the changing panel?" Nuriko finally says with his back still turned.

"Oh, well, I forgot. I'm so use to being in my temple and no one coming in without knocking or asking if I was in there. I use the changing panel as decoration." Samantha says in reply.

"Well this one isn't for decoration. It's for you to change behind." Nuriko says as he turns to walk out the door.

Samantha looks at her cloths and grabs them putting them back on. She then walks out the door to see Nuriko waiting for her.

"So what did you want?" Samantha says to Nuriko.

"I came to tell you where the bathhouses are since I figured you might want to take a bath." Nuriko replies calmly.

"Yeah a bath does sound good right now. It sounds really good a matter of fact. Where is the bathhouse?" Samantha says as she leans against the wall.

Nuriko looks down the hallway and points as he replies," it's just around the corner. I just saw Tasuki walking from it, so I assume it must be free."

Samantha turns to go back into her room as she says," Ok, I think I'll do that, thanks!"

Samantha walks into her room, closing the door behind her and walks over to the night cloths that she had picked out before and picks them up and heads for the bathhouse. Once at the bathhouse Samantha looks around and sees's no traces of anybody being there, so she takes off her clothes and lays them on a nearby shelf. Samantha then grabs a towel and raps it around her. Jessica then walks out of one of the little rooms just as Samantha turns around.

Samantha looks at Jessica and gasps from surprise as she says," Ah, a women's body! Oh wait, I have a women's body."

They both laugh at Samantha's comment before they turn their attention to the opening door to see Nuriko walk in with a towel wrapped around the lower half of his body.

Samantha gasps again as she covers her eye's and says," Ah, a men's body!"

She then uncovers her eyes and looks at Nuriko as she continues to say," Oh wait, I want to see a man's body!"

Both Samantha and Jessica laugh as Nuriko blushes deeply looking for something to cover fully up with. He grabs the first thing he see's which is a door and pulls it off the hinges, covering himself up. Nuriko looks down at the door, noticing what he had done and says to himself," Oh no, Hotohori is going to kill me!"

Meanwhile Nuriko worries about the door; Samantha and Jessica's mouths were hanging down from shock.

"Wow, either someone took the hinges off that door or you're really strong!" Samantha says after she gets over her state of shock.

"I'm one of the Suzuki seven. I'm really strong." Nuriko replies.

Jessica looks at Nuriko and Samantha as she says," Why don't you guys go take a bath. I'm going to bed."

Samantha nods as she replies," Ok, night Jess!"

"Night." Jessica replies before walking out of the room.

Samantha looks at Nuriko, who still has the door coving him up and says," don't you think you should put that down or fix that?"

Nuriko looks at it before replying," Oh yeah your probably right."

He then drops the door and walks into one of the rooms to take a bath. Once he does, Samantha grabs a towel and does the same. Once done Samantha gets dressed in her night cloths and covers up with a white robe. She then heads to her room and lays down for a few minutes before sitting up out of bed and saying to herself," I can't sleep. I think I'll go talk to Jessica!"

Samantha stands up and runs out her door and down the hallway. Meanwhile Nuriko was heading out of the bathroom and to his room, when around the corner Samantha comes out of nowhere and bumps into him, landing on top of him. When she lands on top of him the first three top buttons unbutton revealing some cleavage. Nuriko rises up, resting on his elbows as he looks down at Samantha, who was looking up at him. As he looks at her, his eyes go down to her cleavage as he blushes and looks back up at her face in a stutter.

Samantha looks at him with sweet green eyes as she asks, "Oh no, are you ok, Nuriko?"

Nuriko eye's go back down to Samantha's cleavage as he blushes even more before sliding out from under her and hugging a nearby pole. Samantha sits up on her hands and knees as she looks at Nuriko, who is holding on to the pole with wide eyes going," Ekkkk!"

Samantha cocks her head to the side as she asks, "What is the matter? Are you ok?"

Samantha quickly craws to him to examine him and make sure he wasn't hurt. Nuriko's eye's get wider the closer she gets, until he finally answers," Yes". In a squeaky yet scared voice.

Samantha looks at him with concern as she puts one hand to his forehead while saying, "Your face is red. Are you feeling ok?"

"Um, Yeah I'm fine. I have to go, bye!" Nuriko says before she slides away from her and runs away.

Samantha stands up as she looks in the direction that Nuriko ran off and thinks to herself," I wonder what that was all about. I'll tell Jessica what happened, she'll know!"

Samantha runs off to Jessica room and runs in to Jessica laying in bed mumbling," So tired, and must sleep!"

"Hey Jess, I need to talk to you and ask you something." Samantha says.

Jessica sits up as she responds angrily," Oh ok, what?"

Samantha smiles as she walks over and sits on the edge of Jessica's bed and tells her everything that happened with Nuriko and how he reacted when she fell on him. Once done Jessica gives a big grin as she says," Oh, It seems like he was embarrassed".

Samantha looks at her in confusion as she asks, "What do you mean embarrassed? Why is he embarrassed?"

"Hello! It's because he likes you and besides that he had no shirt on and he saw cleavage." Jessica says perverted.

Samantha thinks about what Jessica said and what happened for a second, before she cocks her head to the side with a smile as she giggles and says," Thanks Jess!"

Jessica lies back down in bed and covers up as she says," Great, now if there isn't anything else I'm going to sleep".

Samantha twittles her fingers as she replies," Well, I wanted to originally ask you about what we're going to do to get home."

Jessica says," I'll tell you tomorrow, right now I want to sleep."

Samantha nods in agreement before saying," Well maybe I can find somebody else to talk to about it."

Jessica looks at her as she says, "Everybody is asleep."

"Oh ok, I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight!" Samantha responds before running out of the room.

Once out of the room Samantha stops in front of Jessica's door and thinks, "Is there anybody up? Hey I just saw Nuriko, so he must still be up!"

Samantha runs to Nuriko's room, meanwhile in Nuriko's room Nuriko is sitting up in his bed thinking about earlier when Samantha had fallen on him. As he thinks about it he begins to blush once more.

Nuriko shakes his head in attempt to stop blushing as he asks himself," what's wrong with me? Why am I acting this way?"

At that moment Samantha walks in, unnoticed to Nuriko. She walks up to him and leans into his face saying," Hey Nuriko! Am I bothering you?"

Nuriko jumps back and points at her as he says," What are you doing here?!"

Samantha twittles her fingers as she replies," Well I just wanted to, talk to you about how Jessica and me are going to get home. I don't really understand any of it. That is if I'm a bother which in that case I'll leave."

Nuriko calms down as he gets off his bed and walks up to Samantha saying," You're never a bother."

Samantha and Nuriko talk about how Samantha and Jessica were going to get home and what was going to happen for an hour, when they we're done Samantha stands up and says," Thank you Nuriko."

Nuriko smiles as he replies," You can come to me anytime."

Samantha twittles her fingers once more as she replies," Really cause it felt like I was being a bother to you when I came in."

Nuriko waves a hand in front of him as he replies," What you a bother, never! You can come to me anytime."

Samantha smiles sweetly at him as she says," Thank you, Nuriko."

With a smile on his face, Samantha leaves the room and Nuriko says to himself," I made her smile".

Samantha walks to her room and goes to bed.

END CHAPTER ONE…

Authors Note: I love writing this and hope you have enjoyed it as well! Please Comment if you want me to add more chapters. I will update once or twice month depending on how much time I get and If I don't get writers block. I'm finishing up my semester of school and have certain things that have to be done so Plz be patient. This is an Rp made Story so this may not be as good as if I was to write it because when you copy and paste it tends to mess up some things like spaces, but I will go back later and correct it all when I get the time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: This chapter is going to be divided into two sections. I know how long chapters can be tiring to read. I hope you like these next two chapters.**

* * *

**The next morning at breakfast everyone was at the table eating except for Samantha and Jessica. They were still in bed, so Miaka and Nuriko go to get them out of bed since they were done with their breakfast.**

**As Miaka tries to wake up Jessica, she gently pokes her only to have no response. After poking her several more times, Miaka decides she's dead.**

"**Oh no, she's dead!" Miaka says in fear.**

**Tamahome comes into the room to see what all the fuss is about.**

"**What's wrong?" Tamahome asks.**

**By this time, Tasuki rushes in the room to see what was going on.**

"**She won't get up. She won't even move. She's dead!" Miaka says.**

"**Huh?" Tasuki says as he looks from Miaka to Jessica.**

**Tasuki walks up to Jessica's sleeping body and sees she is breathing. He smirks and throws her out of bed causing her to land on the floor.**

**Sitting up with a pissed off look on her face, Jessica asks, "Ok, who threw me?"**

**Everyone points at Tasuki, and he holds his hands up yelling, "Traitors!"**

**Jessica's face turns red with anger as she walks toward him and starts beating him up.**

**Meanwhile, Nuriko walks into Samantha's room. He looks around the room to see her sleeping body on the bed. Nuriko walks up next to the bed and stares at her sleeping body. Samantha rolls over laying on her back, with one hand above her head and the other laying across her stomach. **

**Nuriko gets a slight blush as he thinks, " I'm afraid to wake her up. She looks so…nice when she's sleeping… maybe I'll just…" **

**He slowly leans forward and just before their lips touch he leans down to her ear and yells, "Wake up!!!!!!!!!"**

**Samantha screams as she sits up quickly and jerks her arms forward, ultimately pushing Nuriko. He yelps as he falls backwards and lands on his back on the floor.**

"**Ow…" Nuriko mumbles as he holds his head.**

**Samantha gasps when she sees him.**

"**Oh no, Nuriko!" she says as she gets out of bed.**

**Her legs get tangled up in the sheets and she falls forward and lands on the ground with an 'eep'.**

**Nuriko sees her fall, seeing she has only a T-shirt and panties on blushes, and says, "You idiot! What are you doing; trying to get yourself killed?"**

**Her legs still tangled in the sheets, she pushes herself up saying, "Oh yeah, and what about you? You should know better than to wake somebody up like that! I could have hit you in the nose and broken it or worse!"**

**He crosses his arms and says, "Oh please… I can take care of myself."**

"**Uh, when did I say you couldn't?" Samantha says as she crawls closer to him for emphasis.**

**Nuriko leans forward and says, "You didn't! I was just saying you don't have to worry about breaking my nose! I'm not a wimp!"**

**Samantha sighs and says, "I was just worried about you, geez. Fine, whatever. I'm done arguing…"**

**With that, Samantha gets untangled from the sheets and goes to her closet to look for clothes for the day.**

**Nuriko stares at her confused and says, "Why are you getting so upset? I didn't realize I was arguing. I'm sorry, okay…"**

**She looks over her shoulder at him and sighs saying, "You don't have to apologize. The arguing is over. I'm up so leave so I can get dressed."**

**Samantha turns around and returns to what she was doing. Nuriko stands up and puts a hand on his head as he mumbles and leaves.**

**He pauses at the door and without turning around he says softly, "I really am sorry…"**

**He shut the door behind him and walks toward the dining room to inform Miaka of Samantha's waking up.**

**Samantha freezes when she hears him say that and starts to cry.**

**She places a hand over her heart in an attempt to stop the pain that was growing inside of her. A sudden sadness comes over her as she begins to feel depressed from what had taken place.**

**She decides she is too depressed to dress up, so she pulls on her pants from yesterday and crawls back in bed.**

**She thinks to herself, "Great, what do I do now? I feel so bad. Nuriko probably won't look, talk, or want anything to do with me. I hate my life."**

"**Come with me, Miaka! I don't wanna go alone!" Jessica begs as her, Miaka, Tamahome, and a beaten up Tasuki stand outside her room.**

"**Sure, I'll go with you, but why can't you go on your own?" Miaka asks.**

**Jessica's face falls as she says, "I feel bad…"**

"**Bad about what?" Miaka asks concerned.**

"**I feel bad about eating all that good food alone… Besides, I'm not familiar with this place and…" Jessica explains.**

"**And you're just modest about eating the food since you're new here, " Miaka says for her.**

"**Yeah! So, you'll come with me?" Jessica asks hopefully.**

**Miaka nods and Jessica hugs her happily. Miaka smiles as her, Jessica, and Tamahome head toward the dining room. Tasuki rolls his eyes and goes to bug Chichiri.**

**When they arrive to the dining room, Jessica sees all the food and her eyes sparkle.**

"**Oh, wow! So many breakfast items, so hard to choose!" Jessica says as she floats to the table.**

"**Eat all you want! There's plenty!" Miaka says as she sits at an empty spot.**

**Tamahome sits beside her and watches with wide eyes as Jessica starts eating really quickly.**

"**Um, you're gonna choke," Tamahome says exasperatedly.**

**Jessica continues to scarf down into a muffin, ignoring Tamahome.**

**Miaka stares and says, "Wow, she eats faster than I do".**

"**I think it's a tie," Tamahome says.**

**Jessica glares at them with the chopsticks stuck in her mouth.**

"**Just kidding..!" Miaka and Tamahome say nervously.**

**She continues to eat happily.**

**Nuriko walks into the room with his eyes closed slightly saying, "Samantha's awake, and when I left, she was starting to get dressed".**

"**Oh, thanks for waking her up," Miaka says with a smile.**

"**Yeah, but she seemed upset so she may not come to breakfast," Nuriko says as he scratches the back of his head, looking to the side.**

"**Oh," Miaka says.**

**End of Chapter 2**

**Authors Note: Well this is the end of Chapter 2. Man Samantha is so moody… lol. Nuriko has his hands full with her. I hope you all like it. Please Rate and Comment! Tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

**Jessica looks up at this with another muffin in her hand.**

"**Food… Samantha… Food… Samantha… FOOD!" Jessica says as she shoves the muffin in her mouth happily.**

"**I think I'll go check on Samantha for you," Miaka says nervously as she gets up.**

"**Okay!" Jessica mumbles through her muffin with a thumb up.**

**Tamahome stands up and says, "I think I'll go with her…"**

**Jessica ignores him as she grabs a bowl of grapes and dumps them in her mouth.**

"**Wait out here, Tamahome. She may not be fully dressed yet," Miaka says as she smiles at him.**

"**Okay, just hurry up, " Tamahome says as he smiles back at her and ruffles her hair affectionately.**

**She giggles and goes into Samantha's room.**

"**Samantha, are you awake?" Miaka asks as she walks toward the bed.**

"**Mhm," Samantha mumbles as she pulls the covers over her head.**

"**Hey, you should get out of bed and come eat," Miaka says as she goes over to Samantha.**

**As Miaka attempts to pull the covers off of her, Samantha pulls them tightly around her body and rolls up into them like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Miaka tries to pull the covers off but to no avail.**

"**Fine, but I'm sending Jessica in here and she won't be as nice!" Miaka says as she walks out.**

**Samantha growls as she wraps the covers around her tighter, preparing for Jessica.**

"**Is she awake?" Tamahome asks.**

"**Yes, but she won't get out of bed," Miaka says worriedly.**

"**I'm starting to wonder if something went on between her and Nuriko. He seemed sad when he came into the dining room earlier. I'll go find him and you get Jessica to try to get her up," Tamahome says as he walks away.**

"**Alright," Miaka says as she goes back to the dining room.**

**Jessica is sitting there staring at the empty plates around her sadly.**

"**Why did it have to go away?" she cries as she holds a plate she had licked clean to her cheek and nuzzles it.**

**Miaka's eyebrow twitches and asks, "Are you okay?"**

"**No! All the food is gone!" Jessica says as waterfall tears fall from her face.**

"**Because you ate it all," Miaka says with a sweat drop.**

"**I know!" Jessica cries.**

"**Okay… Well, anyway, Samantha's awake but she's refusing to get out of bed. Tamahome and I think she's upset about something and we suspect it has something to do with Nuriko. Nuriko seemed upset when he came in earlier, too," Miaka says as she looks concerned.**

**Jessica sets the plate back on the table and sighs saying, "Alright, I'll go kick her ass."**

**Miaka looks at her with wide eyes and asks, "Did you just say ass?"**

"**Yes, yes I did!" Jessica says as she laughs evilly and runs out of the room.**

"**Okay…" Miaka says as she walks the other way.**

**Miaka sees Tamahome and says, "Aren't you supposed to be looking for Nuriko?"**

"**Yes, but I can't find him anywhere," Tamahome says.**

"**Oh, well, Jessica will find him. How about we go for a walk?" Miaka offers.**

"**Sure," Tamahome says with a smile.**

"**Get your ass out of this bed!" Jessica yells as she yanks on the covers.**

**Jessica is sitting on Samantha's legs, trying to pull the covers out of Samantha's death grip.**

"**No!" Samantha yells as she pulls the covers tighter.**

"**If you don't get out of this bed, I'm going to kick your ass!" Jessica yells as she pulls back.**

"**Go ahead. I deserve it," Samantha says from under the covers.**

**Jessica stops for a second and thinks and decides Samantha is sad.**

"**Well, if you don't the tickle monster is going to eat you!" Jessica says as she holds her hands up evilly.**

"**Oh, God," Samantha mumbles.**

"**Yes my child…" Jessica says with a deep voice.**

"**You wouldn't dare…" Samantha says.**

"**Oh really…" Jessica says as she starts to tickle her.**

**Samantha starts wiggling yelling, "No, no!"  
She rolls out from underneath Jessica and runs out of the room. Jessica laughs evilly as she stands beside the bed.**

"**Muwahaha! I win again! Fear me!" Jessica says evilly with her hands on her hips.**

**Samantha runs down the hall and passes up Miaka and Tamahome.**

**Miaka and Tamahome stare after her and Miaka says, "Wow, she really did get her up".**

"**Uh huh," Tamahome says with a sweat drop.**

**Samantha runs thinking, "She'll never catch me, ha-ha! The power of wind!"**

**She soon realizes Jessica isn't running behind her anymore and stops using her elemental power to make her go faster. She slows to a stop as she sees Nuriko walking toward her with his head down. Nuriko senses someone in front of him and looks up. He stops in his tracks when he sees Samantha standing in front of him. Both stare at each other in shock for a moment.**

**As they do Samantha thinks to herself, " what do I do? What do I say? What can I say? I don't think there is anything that I can say. He doesn't want to hear what I have to say." **

**Samantha looks down at the ground sadly.**

**As she looks down Nuriko thinks to himself," I don't think she wants anything to do with me, so I'll just leave her alone."**

**As Nuriko walks past Samantha, she looks up at him sadly before she goes up to him and hugs him from behind. As Samantha does she barriers her face into his back as she holds him.**

"**Don't go, please! I don't want you to be sad anymore. Please don't be sad anymore, please!"**

**Nuriko's eyes widen and soften as he replies," I thought you were angry at me."**

**Samantha looks up at him and walks in front of him so he would be looking her in the eye's as she replies, What no, I'm not angry. I… I was acting stupid, besides I'm the one who should be hated. I made a big deal over nothing and it upset you. I hate myself for that."**

"**No, that didn't upset me. What upset me was that I upset you by arguing with you. I should have just apologized in the first place when I woke you up like I did. I know it upset you and I'm sorry for that. You don't have to apologize. All I need to know is that I'm forgiven." Nuriko says while smiling softly.**

**Samantha looks at Nuriko with wide eyes and her mouth open as she stands there in slight shock into what Nuriko just said. **

"**Um… your mouth is open." Nuriko finally says.**

**Samantha slowly shuts her mouth and puts her hands in front of her face in embarrassment as she replies," Oh sorry".**

**Samantha looks up at Nuriko with a smile as she squeals with happiness before she wraps her arms around his neck and lays her cheek on his chest. Nuriko smiles as he wraps one arm around her shoulders and places his free hand on the back of her head, affectionately. **

**They pull away and Samantha says, " you're forgiven. You have been since you left my room this morning."**

**Nuriko smiles as he says, " Thank you".**

**They stand there for a few minutes until Nuriko breaks the silence, " so, now what"**

"**How about you come with me to the dining room. I haven't been in there and I'm pretty sure Jessica has eaten up all the food. I don't want to go by myself, I don't know where to get any food since it's gone and I don't know who to ask or where to find them." Samantha replies before he nods and leads the way.**

**They walk into the dining room to see Hotohori and Chichiri in there. Chichiri turns to Samantha as he says, " one rice ball is all she left you." Chichiri hands Samantha the rice ball as Samantha looks down at it sadly as Jessica comes in and see's Samantha holding the rice ball. Samantha looks up to see Jessica before looking back down at the rice ball and saying in anger, " a rice ball is all you left me?! I can't believe you!" **

**Samantha takes a step toward her in a threatening manner, causing Jessica to take a few steps back in fear before running out the door with Samantha running after her. Samantha stops at the door and waits a few seconds before turning around as she smiles victoriously. **

**End of Chapter 3**

**Authors Note: Well finally then end of chapter 3. You got to love Samantha and Jessica's relationship, hahaha. Wonder what will happen next? Please comment and review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Please remember this is a role play type of story so that means there are some mistakes. I will go over it later but right now I will post what I have.**

"**Since you haven't eaten yet I'll go get you something from the kitchen." Hotohori says.**

**Samantha tries to protest but Hotohori disappears into the kitchen and back out with a big plate of food, before she could say anything. Samantha's eye's turn as big as plates as she sits in front of the big plate of food and says," Um Hotohori, I can't eat all of this food."**

"**Well I figured you would eat as much as Jessica. Well the servants will clean up the mess, just eat what you want." Hotohori replies.**

**Hotohori and Chichiri then walk out of the room and Nuriko sits next to Samantha and grabs a plate of his own. Samantha grabs a few things off of her plate and eats it before she stands up happily saying, "Well, I'm full."**

**Nuriko looks up at her in shock as he replies, "Is that all you're going to eat?"**

**Samantha nods and replies, "Yeah, I don't eat as much as Jessica."**

**She then waves good-bye before exiting the dining room and heading for her room. A few minutes later Samantha is still walking around, looking for her room.**

"**Oh, where is my room. Great, don't tell me I'm lost!"**

**(Jessica bumps into Tasuki)**

**A few minutes later Jessica runs into Nuriko who looks at her and asks, "Where is Samantha?"**

"**I don't know, why?" Jessica replies.**

"**Well, I thought she was with you." Nuriko says.**

"**No, maybe she's with Tamahome and Miaka. If she's not then she's probably lost."**

**Samantha has been walking now for an hour and she is more lost than when she started out. Samantha looks around to try to figure out where she is as she says, "Where am I. I don't see anybody. Now what am I going to do?"**

**Samantha keeps walking until she finally decides to sit down under a tree and rest. As she does she continues to look around for anybody to come by. In the distance she sees a pond with a bridge over it; she stands up and walks over to it. As Samantha stands on the bridge she looks down at the pond and smiles as she watches a duck and her baby's swim under the bridge. Samantha quickly walks to the other side to watch the ducks swim out and to the other side of the pond. She sighs as she walks over to the other side of the bridge and sits down tucking her legs to her and laying her head down in defeat.**

**Nuriko and Jessica finally find Miaka and Tamahome.  
" Hey, is Samantha with you or have you seen her?" Nuriko asks.**

**Miaka and Tamahome look at each other before Miaka replies, "No we haven't seen her since this morning when Jessica woke her up and she ran by us."**

"**Well then I guess she is lost." Jessica says.**

"**Then we should split up and find her." Nuriko replies.**

"**Ok, me and Miaka will go looks on the left side." Tamahome says.**

"**Then I'll search the right side." Nuriko continues.**

"**I'll search everywhere else." Jessica says.**

**Another hour later Samantha is sitting in the same place she has been when she hears Nuriko's voice, "Samantha, Samantha where are you!"**

**Samantha lifts her head up and listens once more as she hears, "Samantha, Samantha where are you."**

**Samantha stands up and looks around to try to find Nuriko but she doesn't see him.**

"**Nuriko, I'm here! Nuriko where are you!" Samantha yells.**

**She listens for five minutes before she sits back down thinking he had walked off in the wrong direction or something. Samantha puts her head back down on her knees as she sighs sadly, " I'm never going to be found."**

**Nuriko hears Samantha's voice and starts running to see her at the pond on the bridge with her head down and begins to worry.**

"**There you are! Are you ok?" Nuriko says.**

"**Yeah, for a minute I thought I was lost again. Can you take me back to my room?" Samantha says.**

**Nuriko nods as he takes her hand and leads her back to her room. Jessica watches and smirks before she heads back to her room.  
" I want to take a walk through the town. I bet Samantha would like to come with me." Jessica says back in her room before she goes to her closet and puts on her priestess outfit. Jessica goes over to Samantha's room and walks in to see Samantha and Nuriko sitting on the bed talking. Once she enters the room Samantha looks up at her and greets her.**

"**Hey Sam, do you want to go walking with me in the town?" Jessica asks.**

"**Yeah that would be great. Let me change into my outfit and I'll be out." Samantha replies**

**Jessica nods as her and Nuriko walk outside to give Samantha some privacy. Samantha gets dressed in her priestess outfit and comes out to have Nuriko stare at her.**

"**Why are you staring at me?" Samantha asks.**

"**It's just you look more like a priestess instead of a normal girl." Nuriko replies.**

"**This has to do with you staring at me why again?" Samantha says with sarcasm.**

**Jessica smirks as she replies," Someone has a crush!"**

**Nuriko's face turns red as he turns from them and says, " No, I don't."**

"**Oh well, come on Sammy. Let's go walking." Jessica says.**

"**Wait, you have to have one of the Suzaku 7 with you to get back into the palace. I'll come with you." Nuriko replies quickly.**

**They walk outside the palace and into the town. Walking through town they pass a gift shop.**

**Samantha stops in front of the window as she says, " Oh look at that purse! It's so beautiful!" **

**Samantha then looks at the price before she lets her head drop and says, " Oh man look at that price! That is a lot, not to mention I have no money." **

**Nuriko looks at the purse before he replies, " well lets go inside to just look."**

**Samantha and Jessica smiles as they both nod in agreement before they all head inside the store.**

**As the girls look around Nuriko walks up to the clerk and quietly started to talk to him.**

"**Hey, I want to purchase that purse in the window."**

**The man nods before he heads into the back room and comes back out with a black tote bag purse. He lays it down in front of Nuriko before asking, " is this you want?"**

**Nuriko nods before pulling a few coins out of his pocket and laying them down in front of the clerk and receiving the purse. He then asks the clerk for something to put it in so that Samantha wouldn't see it. Once he places the purse in the bag, he turns to see Jessica right behind him.**

**Jessica smirks as she looks down at the bag and back up at Nuriko before saying, " Hey Nuriko, what yah doing? Isn't that the purse Samantha wanted?"**

**Nuriko begins to get nervous as he replies," Oh, I bought this purse for me, what are you talking about?!"**

**Jessica looks at him with disbelief as she replies, " Huh? We both know that you like her! So why wouldn't you buy it?"**

**Nuriko's entire face turns red as he replies, " what you are talking about, I really like the color purple. It matches my hair!"**

**Jessica narrows her eyes as she replies," Huh… sure!"**

**Nuriko waves his hands in front of him defensively as he says," Its true!"**

**Before Jessica can reply Samantha walks up beside them saying," What's true?"**

**Nuriko begins to get nervous and starts to sweat and rubs the back of his neck as he says in a stutter, " Well we were… we were…"**

**Jessica interrupts him by saying," Just talking about what we're going to do next".**

**Samantha shrugs ok before she sees the purse in his hands and says," Why are you holding a purse?"**

**Samantha point to where he was hiding the purse before saying," That purse, your hiding there".**

**Jessica interrupts the conversation by saying"; He's hiding the purse because he's embarrassed**

**Samantha looks back at Nuriko as she replies," Alright…"**

**Jessica begins to get bored of the conversation, so she say, " who cares! Let's find a place and get some FOOD!"**

**Nuriko smiles happy to have a change of subject as he replies, " well, lunch should be ready back at the palace, so let's head back."**

**Both girls nod in agreement, before they start to head back.**

**As they were close to the palace, they stopped walking to watch a bunch of people practice their archery.**

**Samantha's eyes light up as she rushes over to them, with Nuriko and Jessica following right behind her.**

**Samantha walks up to the men saying," Hey, can I try?"**

**A man with long black hair and brown eye's walks up to her with bow and arrow saying, " Are you any good?" **

**Samantha takes the bow and arrow from the man and aims for the target, hitting it right on the bull's-eye.**

**She then turns to the man before saying," Maybe…"**

**She then takes another arrow and hits the other arrow, splitting it down the middle.**

**She then turns back to the man, who's mouth had now dropped from the shock, as she continues, "Maybe not."**

**She looks around to see everyone's mouth dropped, even Nuriko.**

**Jessica shakes her head in disagreement before saying, "Quit showing off! I'm starving!"**

**Samantha smiles as she walks past Jessica, grabbing Nuriko's hand as she says, " Ok, let's go!"**

**After walking a few feet, Nuriko snatches his hand back saying, " What are you doing?"**

**Samantha turns to him saying, " what does it look like? I'm pulling you!"**

**Nuriko replies, " I can do it myself!"**

**Samantha just shrugs as she says, " Ok!**

**She then turns and starts walking once more.**

**Authors Note: Well this is the end of Chapter 4. I hope you all like this story. I love the humor and love in this story! Please rate and comment. **


	5. Chapter 5

**BACK AT THE PALACE…**

In the dining room, everyone was eating, and Nuriko out of nowhere says, "Did you guys know that Samantha is handy with a bow and arrow?"

Everyone looks at Samantha and Hotohori says, "Why didn't you tell us you we're good at archery?"

Samantha looks up at them with her noodles held up half way to her face before she puts her noodles down and replies, "It never occurred that it was to any great importance."

"It's a really good battle skill, yah know?" Chichiri replies.

"She's just too modest," Jessica says as she fills a bowl with rice.

Samantha looks at her and asks, "Modest…? What's that mean?"

"Kind of like how I don't like getting dressed in front of other girls. You would rather not have everyone's attention when it comes to your skills," Jessica says as she pours some both on her rice.

"Oh, ok," Samantha replies before she continues to eat.

…

After dinner, Samantha and Jessica go into Samantha's room.

"So, what do you want?" Jessica asks knowingly.

Samantha turns to face Jessica as she replies, "I was thinking about us starting out tomorrow. What do you think?"

Jessica sits thoughtfully on Samantha's bed and says, "Well, we can't hang around here forever. I overheard the Emperor talking to Chichiri. They were talking about how Konan was heading for a disaster if Suzaku wasn't summoned soon. If my assumptions are correct, Miaka is the Priestess who will summon Suzaku. The question is: where do we fit into all this? Why were we brought here?"

Samantha thinks for a minute before replying doubtfully, "To help the Priestess summon Suzaku? Maybe we are needed to summon Suzaku, like without us she can't do it."

"That's a possibility. I don't think we should try to interfere very much. We don't even belong in this world. We should figure out how to get home. Maybe we could have Miaka wish for us to return home when she summons Suzaku. By helping her we will be able to return home," Jessica says as she stands again, "Who knows, maybe we'll get to make our own wishes since we're Priestesses as well."

Samantha smiled excitedly before her smile turned to a frown as she says, "Yeah..! Wait... Where do we even start? We have no idea what do, or what needs to be done. Do you think we should talk to Hotohori or maybe we should go ask Nuriko? He told me I could come and talk to him anytime."

Jessica looks thoughtfully at her and says, "Let's talk to Miaka. Maybe she has an idea. She is the Priestess of Suzaku after all."

Jessica walks out of the room and heads for the dining hall where they last saw Miaka. When they get there, no one is there anymore.

"Where is everyone?" Jessica asks as she looks back at Samantha.

When Jessica turns to Samantha she sees her taking a bite of some leftover food as she replies with a mouthful, "I don't know. I'm just as stumped as you are. Hey do you think they have any ramen?"

Jessica smacks herself in the forehead at Samantha's lack of interest and says, "You could at least talk without your mouth full! I'm going to go find Miaka. Go to the kitchen and ask for ramen if you want it so bad!"

Jessica stomps off, all the while laughing at the look on Samantha's face. Samantha just shrugs in confusion before she finishes what she was eating and walks into the kitchen.

"Hello..? Is anybody... Oh hey, Nuriko, what are you doing in here?" Samantha finishes her sentence as she looks at Nuriko who was eating some ramen.

"Nothing much, just having a quick bite to eat. What about you?" he asks.

Samantha grabs a pair of chopsticks as she takes some noodles from Nuriko and starts to eat it while saying, "Nothing, well, actually I, and when I say 'I' I mean me and Jessica, were looking for you or Miaka."

Nuriko looks curious as he takes a bowl of Ramen from a passing cook and gives it to Samantha.

"What did you need? Miaka is with Tamahome and Tasuki in town," Nuriko says.

Samantha begins to laugh nervously as she rubs the back of her neck while explaining, "Oh, well that's not good. Jessica left to go look for them. You see, we were talking and we want to figure out what our roles in everything are and figure out what we need to do. We both agreed that we should start making more progress or at least we could. I mean, Jessica and me don't really do anything or haven't done anything so far, and we figure it's time to take some action, but what? What do we need to start to do? We think we should also start to head out because we're doing nothing here; not making any real progress, see?"

Nuriko nods and says, "Yeah, His Highness has been planning with Chichiri. I go in sometimes and listen. They plan to leave in about three days. They only know that Taitsukun said to look for the Shinzoho in the North in Hokkan. We'll be going by boat so the ships are stocking up right now."

Nuriko finishes his Ramen and says, "Hey, let's head into town. I'm bored just sitting around here. We can go for a walk together. We might see Jessica on our way out."

Samantha nods happily as she put up the bowl and walks out with Nuriko by her side. As they walk out they see Jessica walking around in a huff. Samantha calls Jessica over to them.

Once Jessica gets over there she asks, "What is it; can't you see I'm busy?"

Samantha takes a deep breath as she replies, "Nuriko just told me that Miaka is with Tamahome and that we are leaving in three days to go find something called the Shinzoho in Hokkan; wherever that is. You want to come with us? We're going into town?"

Jessica looks up at Nuriko who was frowning before saying, "Nah, you two go on and have some fun! I want to hang around here."

Jessica leans in to Nuriko and whispers, "Hey, Nuriko, why don't you take her into that forest? She'll get scared and you can comfort her if you know what I mean."

Jessica nudges his arm a little causing Nuriko to blush and turn away so Samantha wouldn't see.

Jessica giggles and says, "See you around Sam. Have fun!"

She runs off.

Nuriko keeps his back to Samantha and he says, "Well, let's get going."

He starts heading toward the gates.

….

Jessica walks to the gates and sneaks passed the guards. Knowing they would stop her for not having one of the Suzaku Seven with her. She laughs when the guards don't notice her and starts walking into town.

"Hope Samantha is okay with Nuriko," she says to herself as she walks.

…

As Samantha walks, Nuriko walks in front of her.

Samantha frowns as she thinks to herself, "Did I do something wrong? Why isn't he looking at me or something?"

Samantha walks up to him and looks up at him trying to get a since of how he was feeling.

She continues to frown as he refuses to look down at her and asks, "Is something wrong Nuriko? You haven't said a word since we left."

Nuriko gets nervous for a second before he looks down to see Samantha's sad yet confused face.

He puts on a smile and replies in a cheerful tone, "No of course not. I'm just trying to think of what we could do together."

Samantha looks around before replying, "Well, is there a river or something nearby. I wouldn't mind going to sit near one for a while. I love rivers or well moving water. Sound weird?" Samantha finishes as she looks up at Nuriko.

Nuriko smiles and says, "Of course not. I like water, too, especially the ocean. I haven't been there in a while though. I'm almost excited."

He puts his arm around Samantha, hoping she wouldn't mind.

….

Jessica looks around the market and notices some earrings. They are gold with black and red pearls dangling on each side.

"Wow, how pretty!" Jessica says as she admires the beautiful pearls.

"Hey, what the heck are you doing out here alone!" Tasuki asks as he walks up to Jessica.

She sweat drops as she turns to him and says, "Well, I wanted some alone time to look around."

Tasuki crosses his arms and says, "You can't just keep sneaking out of the palace like this. What if the Seiryuu Seven were lurking around here? You'd be totally alone and defenseless!"

Jessica crosses her arms and says, "Excuse me, but I'm not defenseless! I'm awesome with a katana, and I know martial arts! Plus, I have other means of disabling my opponent that I don't have to explain to you!"

Tasuki glares at her and says, "Oh yeah, well I'd like to see you fight Nakago or Soy on your own. Tell me how that goes once you've done it!"

Jessica glares and says, "I should kick your ass, but unfortunately I have better things to do!"

She stomps off and disappears around a corner. Tasuki stands there steaming for a moment before he looks at the earrings Jessica liked. He rolls his eyes and walks away, muttering about how he could make earrings better than those.

Jessica walks with her arms crossed and a pouting look on her face. Tasuki wasn't with Tamahome and Miaka like Samantha and Nuriko had said. So where were those two?

….

"ACHOO!"

Miaka wipes her nose and says, "Wow, I haven't sneezed like that in while."

"Someone must be talking about you," Tamahome says as he walks next to her.

She looks up at him doubtfully and says, "Right, so what are we doing again?"  
He sighs and says, "Looking for clues and just hanging out."

Miaka hugs his arm and snuggles up to it saying, "I'd rather be hanging out than looking for clues. We've already looked around this town."

"Yeah, well it doesn't hurt to try again," Tamahome says as he smiles at her.

"Hey, isn't that Jessica?" Miaka asks as she points out a stomping figure.

He blinks and says, "Yeah, what's she doing out here alone?"

"Uh-oh, she looks mad," she says worriedly.

Tamahome waves his free arm in the air and calls out to her.

Jessica turns and looks behind her to see Tamahome and Miaka.

"There they are," she says to herself.

"What are you doing out here alone?" Miaka asks as her and Tamahome walk up to her.

"Looking for you guys... Where the heck were you? I ran into Tasuki but he just annoyed me so I ran off," Jessica says as she crosses her arms like an angry and scolding mother.

Miaka laughs nervously and says, "Uh, well, we were just uh you know uh..."

"Looking for clues..!" Tamahome pipes in.

"Yeah, uh, and we were uh... Heh Heh..." Miaka stutters.

Jessica rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips saying, "Okay, I get it. You were just sneaking off to make out. Yeah..."

"WHAT..! NO WE WEREN'T!" Miaka and Tamahome say together.

Jessica giggles and says, "God, I was just kidding. Don't have a cow. So anyways, Samantha and Nuriko are pigging out on ramen in the kitchen, so I decided to come look for you myself. Samantha thinks we should start leaving some time soon, but we have no idea where to start. Where do we fit into all this? Why were we brought here?"

Miaka blinks and smiles saying, "For the same reason I was brought here obviously; to summon Suzaku. I need all the help I can get. Maybe this is the gods' way of sending me help. In any case, we can always ask Taitsukun."

"Who..?" Jessica asks with raised eyebrows.

"Taitsukun; an entity who gave each emperor of the lands their own version of the Universe of the Four Gods," Tamahome says with a solemn look.

"Oh, you mean the scroll in the temple I'm in charge of?" Jessica says.

Miaka raises her eyebrows and says, "You mean you have a second copy of the Universe of the Four Gods?"

"Yeah, it was given to me about a year ago by some Chinese monks. Samantha has a copy of it, too. We were told to guard it, but we were also told to never open it from its container," Jessica says as she looks thoughtfully at her hands.

"Then that must mean the book I was pulled into was Suzaku's Universe of the Four Gods. If Seiryuu has a Priestess then they have a Universe of the Four Gods as well, but why is Nakago and Yui so desperate to steal our copy?" Miaka asks as she looks up at Tamahome.

He shrugs and says, "Maybe Taitsukun didn't give them their copy."

"Well, anyway, we should get back to the palace before Tasuki finds us," Jessica says as she starts heading toward the palace.

"Hey, Tamahome, wait up!" Tasuki's voice comes from behind them.

"No, run!" Jessica says as she runs off with a dust cloud left behind.

Tamahome and Miaka stare with sweat drops on their foreheads as Tasuki comes up behind them.

"Hey, what's with all the dust?" Tasuki asks as he waves his hand in front of his face.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," Miaka says.

"She must really hate you, Tasuki," Tamahome says as he rubs his forehead.

Tasuki looks at them questioningly and says, "Who..?"

"Jessica," Tamahome and Miaka say as they point toward the dust cloud.

Tasuki runs in the opposite direction of the dust cloud, leaving his own dust cloud behind him.

…

Samantha and Nuriko are down by the river bank. Samantha is throwing rocks and making them skip across the surface of the water while Nuriko watches her.

All of a sudden a hug rock goes flying over Samantha's head and skips across the water, all the way to the other side of the river. Samantha just stares with her mouth open for a few moments before she bursts out laughing her head off. Nuriko joins in on the laughing and puts his hands on his knees. Samantha laughs so hard that she falls over toward the water and Nuriko reaches out to catch her. She lets out a yelp but Nuriko turns his body around her so she lands on top of him instead of on the rocky riverbed.

Samantha gasps and says, "Wet, cold water..!"

She clings to Nuriko's shirt, freaking out about how cold the water is. Nuriko starts laughing and puts his arms around her.

"It's not that cold, Samantha, but let's gets you out of the water so you won't catch a cold," Nuriko says as he stands up with her in his arms.

Nuriko gets out of the water holding Samantha in his arms. Samantha is blushing the entire time but is also shivering from the cold. He sets her on her feet and starts ringing the water out of his hair.

Samantha rings the water out of her hair and says, "Well, that was just lovely. We should go back to the palace to change, unless you find it funny to go around hugging people while we're wet to see their reaction."

Nuriko laughs and says, "I doubt they'd like it very much."

"Whoever said they had to like it?" Samantha says mischievously.

"I like the way you think," Nuriko says as he rubs his hands together evilly.

They laugh as they start walking back to the palace. Samantha sees Tasuki walking with an unhappy look on his face.

"Tasuki..!" Samantha yells as she runs to him and hugs him.

"Oh God you're wet! Get off of me!" Tasuki yells as he tries to push her off.

"Muwahaha, yes!" she yells as she lets him go.

Tasuki looks at himself and groans saying, "I'm wet!"

He looks at Samantha with a scary look and Nuriko laughs nervously as he grabs Samantha's shoulders.

"I think we should get going now. See ya, Tasuki!" Nuriko says as he ushers Samantha away from the redhead.

Well that was Chapter 5, long I know but it has been a while, I hope you like all the jokes, I know I did! Please Comment!


	6. Chapter 6

Once they are a little away from Tasuki, Samantha realizes Nuriko is still pushing her. She starts to say something but she trips from being pushed too hard by Nuriko. Nuriko is so caught up in getting away from Tasuki that he doesn't notice and falls on top of Samantha.

"Ah crap!" Samantha says when Nuriko lands heavily on her back, "Can't breathe!"

Nuriko lifts himself up enough so he's not crushing Samantha. She turns over onto her back and looks up at him. They blush as they look at each other. Nuriko slowly starts to lean down to her face, but he is interrupted.

"You know you shouldn't be doing that in public you guys!" Jessica's voice comes from above them.

Nuriko jumps back and scoots away quickly saying, "You scared me!"

He points accusingly at Jessica with a scared look on his face.

Jessica laughs and says, "That's what you get for making out in public! Naughty, naughty Sammy-whammy..!"

Samantha's face turns red as she sits up and says, "Jessica, shut up! We're not alone here!"

Jessica grins and says, "Yeah, well, it rhymed. You're lucky I didn't say 'pooh'! Hey, when I say pooh I think of crap, and when I say crap I think of shit, and when I say shit I think of poop, and when I say poop I think of pooh, and when I say pooh I think of crap, and when I say crap I think of shit, and when I say..."

"Alright, you said it already!" Samantha yells as Jessica starts repeating herself.

Jessica laughs hysterically and as she does, Tasuki starts walking up to them.

"Oh, no, he caught up to us!" Nuriko says as he stands up.

Samantha just lies on the ground lazily and says, "For some reason that doesn't surprise me."

Jessica looks up to see who exactly had caught up to them and sees Tasuki.

"Ah, it's him! RUN!" Jessica yells as she throws her hands in the air and runs toward the palace gates.

"YOU..!" Tasuki yells as he points at her retreating form, "Get back here!"

Tasuki chases after Jessica with the need to annoy her.

Samantha laughs and says, "Don't they make such a cute, diabolical, evil couple?"

Nuriko laughs as he helps her stand and says, "Yeah, but they're both going to annoy each other to death at this rate."

"I bet money on it that Jessica's going to kill Tasuki first!" Samantha says as she stands up with Nuriko's help.

Nuriko keeps holding on to her arms as he laughs and says, "How much money?"

"All that I have, which is probably none..." Samantha says as she thinks about it.

They sweat drop as they walk back to the palace, Nuriko forgetting that he was still holding one of Samantha's arms.

As they walk, Nuriko slowly lets his hand slip down Samantha's arm and to her hand. As he does he begins to blush and slowly intertwines their fingers together. Samantha smiles as she looks down at their hands through the corner of her eyes. Then after a few minutes, she slowly and silently leans into Nuriko as she wraps her arm around his.

….

Nuriko and Samantha make it back to the palace. "Do you want to search for Jessica? She might have seen Miaka and Tamahome today," Nuriko asks as he looks down at Samantha with caring eyes.

Samantha looks up at him with a smile as she replies," No, I know she'll inform me later on what happened. Plus I really want to get out of these wet clothes. I don't need to get sick. It will take a while for me to get better."

Nuriko scratches his cheek and says, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We Suzaku Warriors don't normally get sick because of our body's strength, but it would be normal for a priestess to get sick. Miaka's been sick before too, and she pushed herself so hard she had passed out. Promise me you won't do that though, Samantha." The intensity of his stare is strong as he gently squeezes her hand tighter.

Samantha squeezes his hand as she replies," Don't worry I take pretty good care of myself. I'm not able to push myself far anyway because of Jessica. She can tell when I do and she ends up bringing it to my attention. I guess I don't realize that I do it. I'm just so use to it. Hey Nuriko, do me a favor. If you think I'm taking on too much or something let me know, ok?" Nuriko nods in agreement before escorting her to her room.

Nuriko stands in the hallway as he waits for Samantha to change. He looks at the hand he had held Samantha's hand in and whispers to himself, "Why did that feel so... right?" He sighs as he leans on the railing, waiting for Samantha.

…

Jessica stops running when she reaches the palace gates. She had taken the long way back to palace so she could try to ditch Tasuki, but he was way too fast and she barely managed to get herself out of his sight. Now, the only problem of escaping him is the guards standing in her way of entering the palace. "State your name and why you've come," one of the guard's says.

"Priestess Jessica and I want entrance into my temporary home, please," Jessica says as she stands up straight.

They look at her not amused and one says, "Yeah right. The Priestesses all know they must have a Suzaku Warrior or one of the guards with them to enter the palace again. You are an imposter. Leave at once."

Jessica glares at them and says, "Do NOT make me prove my identity to you."

They hold their spears up and one says, "Leave the premises or we'll have to force you, ma'am."

A pissed off look covers her face and she says, "Oh I know you did NOT just call me ma'am! Get the hell out of my way!"

The younger looking guard steps toward her and says, "Alright, you asked for it." They start to walk toward her and she gets even more pissed off.

Jessica uses the power of air to run quickly behind them and hit them both in the back off the neck to knock them out.

The two guards slump to the ground with a groan.

"I warned you," she says angrily as she waltzes into the palace grounds.

She quickly gets over the scene she had caused and hums a tune to herself while walking to her room.

Tasuki runs up to the palace gates and sees the guards are knocked out. He rolls his eyes and says, "Jessica's work I presume. Hey lazy heads get off your butts and do your job!"

His loud voice causes the knocked out guards to rise and they look confused. They look at Tasuki and then at each other and their bodies stiffen.

"She got into the palace!" they say to each other.

Tasuki asks them, "Who got into the palace?"

The younger one says, "Some girl pretending to be Priestess Jessica."

He rolls his eyes and says, "Was she pissed off and running toward you when you saw her?"

They nod and Tasuki laughs saying, "That was Priestess Jessica. She was running away from me because I'm annoying her. Now, stop worrying and do your jobs." He walks off searching for Jessica.

…..

Once Samantha is finally done getting dressed, she comes out of her room with a smile on her face.

She is in her pajamas and Nuriko looks at her curiously. "You plan on going to bed already?" he asks as he looks at her clothes.

"Well actually I plan to go to Jessica's room and talk... THEN go to bed." Samantha patted him on the shoulder playfully before she turned to go to Jessica's room.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning. Good night," Nuriko says as he waves and walks to his room.

…

Before getting to her room, Jessica sees Chichiri and Hotohori walking and talking together. They were leaving the dining room, obviously just getting done having an evening snack. She walks up to them and they greet her with smiles.

"Hello, Jessica. What brings you to this part of the palace?" Hotohori asks her.

Jessica grins and says, "I was about to go to my room but I saw you and decided to stop and tell you what just happened. When I got back to the palace, I didn't have one of you with me so the guards wouldn't let me in. So I kind of knocked them out because I got mad so I thought I'd warn you. You should really give the guards a picture of Samantha and me so they stop bothering us when we're alone."

Hotohori gives her a worried look and says, "You are not supposed to be walking around alone outside the palace anyway, Jessica. You know of the danger you could be in if you were found by the enemy."

Jessica sighs and says, "Forgive me when I say this, but Samantha and I don't need the protection as much as you think we do. We may not seem like it, but we're strong and possess more powers than you think we do. Please, just give them a picture of us so we don't have to worry about it anymore. It's nice to get away from everyone else every once in a while."

Hotohori sighs and says, "Yes, I guess you're right. I'll have an artist do it right away."

Chichiri says, "Nuriko mentioned to me that you draw, Jessica. Why don't you draw Samantha and yourself?"

Jessica laughs and says, "Trust me when I say I'm horrible at drawing people. I'm better at drawing objects and scenery. Oh, I know what! I'll give you a picture that Samantha and I took together. I have an extra copy of it in my wallet so you can have this one."

She pulls a picture out of her pocket and hands it to Hotohori.

Hotohori studies the picture and says, "You mean you keep a picture of Samantha and yourself in your pocket?"

Jessica smiles warmly and says, "You never know when you'll be separated, so I keep a picture of us in my pocket just in case. This way if I'm searching for her I can show the picture to people that might have seen her. One can never be too paranoid."

They look at her with raised eyebrows and she waves at them as she walks away. "Good night!" she yells.

Jessica gets to her room and changes into pajamas. Just as she starts brushing her hair, Samantha knocks once and enters her room.

"Hey, Sam, what's up?" Jessica asks as she finishes brushing her hair and sits on her bed.

"Oh nothing, just wanted to know if you found Miaka?"

Jessica replies," Yeah I did. Why?"

Samantha rubs the back of her neck as she replies," Oh you know me, just curious."

Samantha then sneezes before she tries to reply only to have Jessica says, "Oh it sounds like you're coming down with a cold. You always sneeze and cough when you're getting sick."

Samantha stands up as she heads for the door saying, "No I'm not. It was a sneeze not a sneeze and a cough. Just a sneeze... Well I'm going to bed. I can't stop yawning, night."

Jessica says her good nights as Samantha exits her room, closing the door behind her. She turns away from the door and stops to cough.

When she does, Jessica opens the door and glares at her as she replies, "Just a sneeze huh? You are sick."

Samantha puts her hands up defensive as she replies, "What, sick? No, well ok, but don't tell anyone. Especially Nuriko, he would be so worried!"

Jessica sighs and says, "Okay, but you better go straight to bed missy! We're supposed to leave in three days to look for the Shinzaho which will help Miaka and we summon Suzaku. Good night."

Samantha walks away as she waves good bye to Jessica. Samantha walks back to her room and gets in under the covers, pulling them tightly to her. She sighs as she slowly falls asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: Chapter 7 has been divided since it is so long!

THE NEXT MORNING...

Jessica's eyes flutter open as she wakes up. The feeling of a chilly morning has waked her up, and her body is telling her to wake up. She slowly gets out of bed and dresses in a simple dark blue kimono with long sleeves to keep her warm. She runs her hands through her fingers as she walks into the hall going to eat breakfast early. The servants stare at her as she grabs some fruit and two rice balls with morning sausage in the middle.

"What are you doing up so early Priestess Jessica?" a female servant asks politely.

Jessica smiles as she swallows some fruit saying, "I was feeling cold so my body woke me up. Plus, I have to check on Samantha. She wasn't feeling well last night. Do you mind bringing some morning soup to her in a bit?"

The servants smiles and says, "As you wish, my lady."

Jessica giggles at the seriousness of the servant and walks into the dining room to finish her breakfast.

Once she is done, Jessica heads to Samantha's room. She knocks but when she receives no answer she walks in.

"Samantha..?" she asks as she shuts the door behind her.

Samantha is lying in bed under the covers. Jessica walks over her and realizes Samantha is shaking from the cold and touches her arm to wake her.

"Samantha, it's time to get up. Wake up!" Jessica says as she shakes her.

When Samantha doesn't respond, Jessica touches her cheeks and gasps as she realizes how hot Samantha feels.

"Samantha, wake up!" Jessica yells as she shakes her harder.

Samantha turns the other way as she coughs and replies, "Stop shaking me! You're making me feel sick!"

She then grabs the blankets and pulls them to her in an attempt to get warm.

After she does, Samantha turns her head toward Jessica saying, "Jess will you do me a favor? Go get me some blankets."

Jessica nods and heads to get her some more blankets. On her way back she runs into Nuriko. She stops to say hi and Nuriko notices the blankets and asks why she has so many.

"Oh, Samantha is sick."

Nuriko gets a worried look on his face before replying, "Oh well is there anything I can do?"

Jessica thinks before responding, "Well you could go get the soup I asked the servants to make for her. I'm going to go see Miaka and see if she has a thermometer. If I'm not back by the time you get there, watch over her, okay?"

Nuriko says, "Sure, I'll do that."

He walks away to the kitchen. Jessica takes the blankets to Samantha and covers her up with them. Then she leaves and goes to Miaka's room. She knocks but all she gets is the sound of snoring. Jessica rolls her eyes and walks in.

"Hey, Miaka, wake up! Samantha is sick and I need to know if you have a thermometer," Jessica yells as she shakes Miaka.

Miaka moans in her sleep and points toward her closet saying, "Backpack, thermometer, sleep..."

Jessica sighs as she digs through Miaka's backpack and finds a thermometer in the side pocket

"Found it!" Jessica says happily. "Thanks!"

She waltz out of the room and runs to Samantha's room. She makes Samantha roll over and shoves the thermometer in her mouth.

"Put it under your tongue and wait for the beep," Jessica orders her.

Samantha sighs as she does as she is told.

After 60 seconds the thermometer beeps and Jessica takes it from Samantha's mouth.

"Holy crow, its 101 degrees..!" Jessica exclaims as she looks at the digits.

Samantha just moans and rolls back over on her side, pulling the blankets up over her.

"Jess, will you tuck my feet in. That's the only part of me that's cold."

Jessica nods as she tucks the blanket under Samantha feet. Nuriko watches with a sad yet worried look on his face.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Jessica nods and says, "Yeah, you should probably wait outside for now. She has a really high fever, so it's best for you to wait. I'll monitor her temperature for a while to see if she'll be okay."

Nuriko nods as he walks out of Samantha's room. Jessica follows him and shuts the door behind her.

"So is this because she pushed herself?" Nuriko asks.

Jessica shakes her head and says, "No, it's because she got a little wet and didn't get back in time to dry off. She showed signs of getting sick last night, but we thought if she went to bed early she could sleep it off. Today, she has a fever."

Nuriko sighs and says, "If you need me to get anything for her, just call for me. I'll be waiting out here."

Jessica nods and takes the soup from Nuriko. She goes back into Samantha room and sets it on the night stand.

"Sit up so I can see if you can keep food in your stomach," Jessica says as she helps Samantha sit up.

Samantha sits up as Jessica feeds her the soup. Samantha eats it all. She waits a few minutes before throwing it all up in a nearby trash can.

Jessica shakes her head in disappointment as she says, "This isn't good. You got to eat something."

Samantha thinks for a bit before replying, "Well the last time I was sick like this the only thing I could eat was Chicken and Dumplings, but I don't think they have that or know how to make it. Do you know how to make it?"

Jessica nods and says, "Yeah, my mom taught me how to make it. I'll go see what I can do. When I get back I'll check your temperature again. Just lie here and rest okay?"

Samantha nods and lies back down.

Jessica leaves the room and says to Nuriko, "I'm going to go make her some chicken and dumplings. She can't hold down the soup they made her. Watch over her please."

Nuriko nods and goes into Samantha's room. When he sees her, he sits on the edge of the bed and softly rubs her arm.

….

Jessica goes into the kitchen and announces, "Alright people get out of my way! I'm making chicken and dumplings!"

Everyone looks at her and one servant says, "We could make it for you, my lady."

Jessica shakes her head and says, "No, I'm going to make it for Samantha. I'm in the mood to cook anyway!"

They shrug and leave some space for her to make the soup. They get everything Jessica asks for and she begins the process of making the chicken and dumplings.

….

Samantha feels Nuriko rubbing her arm so she turns to look at him. His face shows worry so Samantha forces a smile to reassure him. His touch is so relaxing and cool that she takes his hand and puts it on her forehead for the coolness. She doesn't move her hand from his hand, trying to keep him from taking it away. A blush creeps to his cheeks, and he looks at her softly.

"I hope you will get better soon. I feel bad seeing you sick because I couldn't keep you from falling in the water," Nuriko says kind of sadly.

"Don't worry. It's not your fault. I probably would have gotten sick anyway without falling into the water," Samantha says to reassure him.

Nuriko doesn't say anything.

He leans forward and puts his mouth beside her ear and says, "Please, just get better soon. You worry too much and work way too hard."

After that he rests his forehead against her shoulder.

She mumbles, "How do you know I work hard?"

He laughs softly and says with a joking tone, "Only a tired body gets sick this easily. If Jessica had fallen in the water, she wouldn't be sick right now. She's too lazy to work hard."

…

Jessica walks in with a cup of cold tea and a bowl of soup.

"I heard that," Jessica says with an evil glare toward Nuriko.

Nuriko is startled by Jessica's appearance and shoots up out off of the bed with his arms up in the air.

"You know that makes you look guilty of doing something," Jessica says with the same evil glare.

This makes Samantha start laughing but then goes into a coughing fit.

Nuriko sees this and smiles saying, "Well, I don't think I'm needed here anymore. I'll be in the hall if you need me."

His face is slightly red from embarrassment of getting caught in such and intimate position.

Nuriko thinks to himself, "I'm supposed to be gay, not bisexual! I like Hotohori-san, but I can't get Samantha off my mind long enough to even think about him! That long hair, sweet scent, and her tan skin… Crap, Hotohori doesn't have tan skin, Samantha does!"

Just as he gets to the door, Samantha's voice stops him.

"You aren't going to leave me are you?" she asks in a sad voice.

Nuriko stops and turns back around saying, "Well, I figure Jessica knows how to take care of you. I'll stay if you want me to, Samantha."

"Yes, I want you here beside me," Samantha says as she rolls over to her side to give him room.

As Nuriko walks back over her, Samantha starts shivering from the cold air. He sits next to her and puts some more blankets over her.

Jessica sets the soup on the nightstand and says, "I'll leave this here for you, Samantha. If you don't feel like eating it by yourself, I'll feed it to you if you want. I'm going to go find Miaka and tell her what's going on. Send Nuriko if I'm needed."

In a sickly voice, Samantha says, "Yeah, go."

Jessica pats her shoulder softly and leaves the room. Samantha tries to sit up to get the soup, but her body begins to shiver from the cold and being sick she falls back down to the bed for warmth.

Nuriko sighs and says, "You're going to starve yourself if you don't eat something. Plus, if you eat you'll have food in your stomach to calm it down. Here, this should help."

He stands up and turns her over onto her back. With one arm underneath her and the other behind her neck, he pulls her into a sitting position and sits behind her. One leg is on either side of her while he pulls her back against his chest. He grabs the covers and holds them up so they cover her chest but not her arms so they are free.

Samantha tries not to smile as she is nervous with Nuriko being so close to her. His closeness makes her heart pound so quickly she was sure he could hear it.

Nuriko grabs the bowl from the nightstand and holds it in front of Samantha. She doesn't say anything as she puts her hands on the bottom of the bowl, just under Nuriko's hands, and sighs from the warmth.

Nuriko smiles to himself and thinks, "I'm glad she can't see my face right now. I'm sure it's red."

After a few moments, Samantha grabs the spoon and tries to eat but her hands are shaking so badly the dumplings fall back into the bowl. She tries again but gets irritated after the dumplings fall back into the bowl again.

When she is about to give up and cry, Nuriko's hand suddenly grasps her left hand which is holding the spoon. Together they scoop up some chicken and dumplings into the spoon with ease. She pulls the bowl closer to her as she takes a steady bite thanks to Nuriko's support.

A drop of water falls on the side of Nuriko's hand and he knows what it is. Worriedly he asks, "Samantha..?"

She puts the back of her right hand to her mouth to muffle the sounds coming from her.

"Why are you sad?" he asks with worry.

Samantha is unable to speak so she acts. She makes him let go of her left hand and grabs his hand in return. She pulls it across her chest so he is hugging her. Then she leans her head back against his shoulder and sighs contently.

Nuriko's cheeks are red, but he accepts her relief and takes this as a thank you.

"It's okay. I won't leave if you don't want me to. I know how you're feeling. It helps to have someone to pick you up when you're down," Nuriko says to comfort her crying.

She turns her head a little and says a weak, "Thank you."

After a few moments of silences, Samantha turns back to her food and begins to eat it with no trouble. Nuriko sits silently behind her, thinking of all that had just taken place.

Samantha finishes and sets the bowl on her nightstand. Nuriko starts to get up but he doesn't move even three inches before Samantha turns onto her side and grabs his arm. She wraps her arms around his arm and snuggles against it.

"Sleep…" she mumbles as she closes her eyes.

After a short yawn, Samantha relaxes and starts to fall asleep. The blush that had disappeared before comes back to his cheeks and he looks at her innocently. A few minutes pass and Samantha is fast asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Authors Note: Part 2

Jessica finds Miaka sitting with Tamahome, playing a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, and walks happily to them.

"Hey, lovebirds, may I partake in this game?" Jessica asks as she sits next to Miaka.

"Man, I so had you with rock!" Tamahome exclaims.

"No, paper covers rock!" Miaka says.

"But rocks are supposed to crush paper!" he says.

"No, paper wraps around the rock because there is so much of it!" she yells.

"Rock wins!" Tamahome yells.

"Paper wins!" Miaka yells.

"ROCK..!"

"PAPER..!"

"ROCK..!"  
"PAPER..!"  
"HEEEeeeeeey..!" Jessica yells in the middle of their arguing.

"WHAT!" they both yell.

Jessica blinks at the sudden angriness directed toward her and says, "Yeesh, I need a hearing aid now, thanks."

They all laugh and Jessica suddenly gets a serious face.

"Sorry to interrupt your fun, but Samantha is very sick. I have no idea what to give her. We didn't exactly prepare to be sucked into the Book of the Four Gods, so we don't have medicine or clothes or anything. We appreciate the clothes we've been given, but I'm afraid Samantha won't get better with just soup and rest," Jessica says with fear in her voice.

Miaka and Tamahome look at each other with the same ideas in their eyes.

Tamahome decides to speak up, "Mitsukage is a doctor. He'll have something for her."

"Come with me. I'll take you to him. He's probably with Chiriko in the study trying to look up stuff about medicine. He used to live in a small village so he didn't have lots of reading material like Hotohori," Miaka says as she stands up.

Tamahome gets up too and says, "I'll go tell others."

As he disappears, Miaka takes Jessica to Mitsukage.

…

Hotohori and Chichiri are sitting at a table with maps and documents spread out all over it. Tamahome knocks and Hotohori calls for him to enter.

Tamahome bows on one knee and says, "Your Majesty, the Priestess Jessica just told me that Priestess Samantha is sick. It sounds pretty bad since they needed Mitsukage."

Hotohori stands as he says, "I assume you haven't seen her?"

"No," Tamahome says as he shakes his head and stands.

"Then I will go see her. We will decide whether to delay the journey ahead after I have seen her," Hotohori says to cover up the fact that he is worried about Samantha.

Chichiri looks at Hotohori suspicious about his true reason for going to see Samantha personally. Normally, he would send him in his place.

"I'll stay here to double check the route," Chichiri says as he leans over the maps again.

Hotohori doesn't answer, too occupied with worried thoughts of Samantha to reply, and follows Tamahome to Samantha's room.

….

Jessica and Miaka enter a room that has bookshelves all the way to the ceiling with a ladder that reaches to the highest shelf. Two bins with scrolls in them are set by the doors. There are two tables and eight chairs in the room, and Mitsukage and Chiriko are occupying two of the chairs, each at their own table with books all over the surface.

"Wow, talk about hardcore studying," Jessica mumbles to Miaka.

Miaka laughs and says, "Yeah, they're bookworms, huh?"

"I heard that," Chiriko says as he keeps his eyes on the scroll in front of him.

To avoid any more wasting time, Jessica turns to Mitsukage while Miaka explains to Chiriko that they meant nothing by what they said.

"Samantha is sick. Could you please come with me to look at her? I'm worried she won't get better," Jessica pleads, seeing how busy Mitsukage is with his work.

He stands up automatically and says, "Of course, you need not say anything else."

Her eye twitches at how tall he is and how intimidating his deep voice is.

"Wow, scary…" Jessica says as she hides behind Miaka.

Mitsukage laughs and Miaka and Chiriko look to see what made him laugh. They all laugh at how Jessica is cowering behind Miaka while squealing.

"It's okay, he won't eat you," Miaka says with a sweat drop.

Jessica peers over at him and says, "Tell that to his scary face."

Suddenly, a cat pops up on his shoulder and jumps at Jessica. She squeals and falls backward in her haste to get away from the flying object, but ends up falling into someone.

"Huh..?" she wonders and looks up.

Tasuki is glaring down at her annoyed.

"Eep!" she squeals as she clings to the cat and jumps away from him.

"That's scarier than that," Jessica says as she points from Tasuki to Mitsukage.

"Are you calling me ugly!" Tasuki yells.

"You said it, not me," Jessica says with a scoff.

Tasuki's anger begins to build up causing Miaka to grab Jessica and push her out of the room.

"I think we'll be going now. Come on Mitsukage!" Miaka says as she waves at Tasuki.

Jessica willingly leaves the study and walks with Miaka and Mitsukage to Samantha's room.

"Honestly, I don't see why he's mean to me. Did I do something?" Jessica asks Miaka while glaring at the ground and holding the cat in her arms.

Miaka smiles and says, "No, Tasuki's always got that scary look on his face. Don't take his behavior personally. Think of him as a brother who annoys the crap out of you."

Jessica sighs and thinks to herself, "That's hard when he's all I think about besides food…"

"Yeah, well, he could be a little bit nicer. He acts like a four year old trying to run away from cooties!" Jessica says with a pout.

Miaka laughs at this and soon they arrive at Samantha's door. Jessica opens the door and walks in with Mitsukage and Miaka behind her.

"WHAT THE CRAP..?" Jessica yells.

"What..?" Miaka and Mitsukage ask as they look over her shoulder.

"Oh…" they say.

Nuriko is sitting behind Samantha, and Samantha is clinging onto him while lying down between his legs. All in all, it's not a good thing for a person with a perverted mind to see…

"What… Are... You... Doing?" Jessica says through clenched teeth when she realizes Nuriko was awake and looking at her with a scared look.

Nuriko shushes her and says, "She was cold and couldn't eat by herself so I helped her and…"

Jessica holds up her hand and says, "Shut up, I don't want to know. Mitsukage, they're all yours."

Mitsukage walks over to Samantha and Nuriko. Jessica walks out of the room with Miaka. Once the door is closed, Jessica smirks to herself.

"Yep, I'm good, I know," she says to Miaka.

"Huh?" Miaka asks confused.

Jessica looks at her funny and says, "Hello, I just played matchmaker with them. Don't you get it?"

Miaka stares for a moment before she realizes what is going on.

"Wow, I wonder if this means Nuriko is bisexual?" Miaka says as she looks up in thought.

Jessica blinks and says, "What!"

Miaka looks at her and says, "Oh, you didn't know Nuriko was gay did you?"

Jessica just gawks at her and shakes her head.

"Oh, well, he's been infatuated with Hotohori for a long time now. I'm kind of shocked," Miaka says as she rubs her neck.

Jessica hits herself on the forehead and says, "Damn it. Poor Nuriko... He's going to have a lot to deal with."

Miaka looks confused and asks, "What do you mean?"

Jessica sighs and says, "Sadly I must say, Samantha likes the idea of gay guys."

"What does that mean?" Miaka asks, still confused.

Jessica scratches her head and says, "Well, you're from the same world as us, so you've been on the Internet right?"

Miaka nods and says, "Uh-huh."

"Well, if you look on .net you'll find lots of yaoi and yuri stories. If the idea of gay guys having sex turns her on, then dating a gay guy will definitely turn her on," Jessica with a slightly freaked out tone.

Miaka squeals as her eyes roll into the back of her head and she passes out. Tamahome comes up behind her and catches her.

"What happened to Miaka?" he asks worriedly.

Jessica laughs uncontrollably and says, "Nothing, trust me. You don't want to know."

She rolls on the floor as she holds her sides and little tears fall as she laughs too hard.

"What's wrong with Miaka?" Hotohori asks as he comes from behind Tamahome.

This makes Jessica laugh harder for some reason and she slowly crawls away from them to get away from the conversation.

"Don't ask," Tamahome says with a sweat drop.

Samantha's door opens and Mitsukage comes out.

"Oh, Mitsukage you're here already," Hotohori points out.

"How's Samantha?" Tamahome asks.

This question makes Jessica appear beside them in a flash and it freaks them all out.

Miaka wakes up from the noise and sees Jessica standing there.

"What happened?" Miaka asks.

"Nothing," Jessica says, glad that Miaka didn't remember what she said about Samantha, "What's the status doc?"

Everyone looks at Jessica strangely and she rolls her eyes impatiently. Mitsukage takes the hint and explains.

"Well, she just has a high fever. Nuriko explained that she had fallen in water yesterday and it took them a while to back to the palace. Obviously she didn't get into dry clothes in time so she got sick. She should be better after two days of rest and warm liquids. Plus, I gave Nuriko some medicine to mix with her broth," Mitsukage explains while looking at Hotohori.

Hotohori nods and says, "Then that means she should be well enough to leave in three days right?"

Mitsukage nods and says, "Only if she follows the instructions and stays warm. She could get sick while we're on the ship though because of the cold sea winds."

Jessica rolls up her sleeves saying, "Oh, don't worry! I'll make sure she does everything you say, and I'll make sure she wears warm clothing."

Hotohori looks at her and says, "I'll have someone bring some long-sleeved kimonos and winter shoes to her room."

"I'll go make sure the cooks know to make soup," Miaka says as she skips away with Tamahome following behind her.

Hotohori walks into Samantha's room and stops at what he sees. His eyes hold slight shock when he sees Samantha asleep in Nuriko's arms. A strange feeling of jealousy sweeps through him and he turns his back on the sight.

"Make sure she gets well," Hotohori says as he walks off.

Mitsukage and Jessica stare after him with confusion and shrug.

Mitsukage gives Jessica the medicine instructions since Jessica is the one who makes Samantha's food, and then he leaves to go study some more with Chiriko.

Jessica decides to leave Samantha and Nuriko alone and walks off to find something fun to do.

Authors Note: Comments make the world go round!


	9. Chapter 9

Nuriko looks down at Samantha in his arms and thinks, "I don't think I like just men now. Samantha seems to have stolen my heart..."

…...

Jessica walks around randomly, not sure of what to do. Right about this time of day she would be at the temple training her students.

"I hope they're still training, even if I'm not there," she thinks to herself.

Tasuki is sitting with his legs crossed in the grass. His elbows are on his knees and his head rests in his hands. He stares off into space while thinking of Jessica. "What a stubborn brat. She doesn't act like a priestess at all," he says out loud to himself.

"Quit talking to yourself. People are going to think you've lost your brains," Jessica says as she stands behind him.

Tasuki twitches as he says, "Hm, did I hear something? Must have been the wind." Jessica glares and says, "I'll show you wind in a minute if you don't acknowledge me!"

The wind picks up due to Jessica's power and Tasuki gets nervous.

"Okay, I know you're behind me. Now go away! You're annoying me with your voice!" Tasuki says loudly.

Jessica crosses her arms and says, "If you're going to yell, you might as well say something intelligent!"

She starts to walk off, but Tasuki suddenly tackles her to the ground. He pins her shoulders down as he sits on her stomach.

"If you don't quit smarting off, I'm going to have to do something rash!" Tasuki says angrily.

Jessica glares and says, "I'm sorry but I don't feel like getting a rash today! Get off before I yell rape!"

Tasuki smirks and says, "You wouldn't."

Jessica smiles and says, "How do you know?"

Tasuki looks up and says, "I don't know. Maybe because I wouldn't do something like that. Its gross and wrong."

Jessica smiles and says, "Glad to hear that from you. RAPE!"

Tasuki covers her mouth and says, "Shut up! Someone will hear you!"

Jessica tries to talk into his hand but he won't move it.

Tasuki smirks and says, "Will you shut up if I move my hand?"

Jessica nods and he moves his hand.

"HELP!" she yells.

Tasuki tries to cover her mouth again but she bites his hand.

"Ow, damn it! Would you stop already!" Tasuki yells.

Jessica glares and says, "Only if you get off me! You're fat butt is squishing me!" Tasuki crosses his arms and says, "Now I'm not moving cause you said that." Jessica takes a deep breath and screams, "FIRE!" Tasuki gets mad and acts on instinct.

He kisses her.

Jessica stops and doesn't move or breathe. She finds herself liking the kiss and when she realizes this she pushes Tasuki away.

"What are you doing!" she asks.

Tasuki blushes and says, "Shutting you up! What else?"

Jessica uses air to help her push him away and stands up. She runs off and doesn't look back to see if he was following her. She stops behind a storage building to catch her breath and leans against it for support.

"What the hell was that about?" she asks herself.

…...

As Nuriko sits on Samantha's bed watching her sleep.

All of a sudden Samantha starts to toss and turn in her sleep as she softly says," Mom... Jonathan... grandmama... papa...no... no...NOOOOO!"

Samantha shoots up in a sitting position while panting. She places a hand to her head to wipe away the sweat off of her head. She looks behind her to see Nuriko staring back at her with a worried expression on her face.

Tears began to roll down her face as she turns to Nuriko and hugs him as she cries.

Nuriko holds her and says, "It's okay. I'm here. What did you dream about?" Samantha shakes her head, not wanting to say just yet.

He smiles and strokes her hair saying, "It's alright, breathe, Samantha."

After a while Samantha looks up at him as she explains her dream.

I dreamed of the day that all of my family died.  
I was driving you see and well it was really late and I was really tired, so I pulled over and had my mom get in the driver seat, my little brother Jonathan get in the front seat and let me lay down and sleep in the back.  
My grandparents were in the vehicle behind us and had pulled over with us.  
It was raining and cold and the roads was slick with ice. We started off again.  
I went to sleep and didn't wake up until the sound of screaming woke me up.  
The vehicle rolled down a hill and crashed into a tree right side up.  
I kicked open the door and got out to see that both vehicles had crashed.  
My grandparents' car had crashed right into my mom's car.  
When I got out I went up to my mom's car and started to break the glass to get in.  
I hurt my hand while doing that but I didn't care nor did i notice.  
My only thought was that I had to get my family out.  
So I banged on the glass and finally broke it but as my luck would have it I couldn't get them out.  
My mom was already dead from the impact and my brother was screaming in pain because part of the ruff had collapsed and some of the metal had gone into him. He was bleeding badly.  
I couldn't get him out. So instead I went for my grandparents.  
I was able to get my grand papa out but before I could get my grandma out the car exploded and caught on fire along with my mom's car.  
That was the worse sound, Nuriko.  
Listening to the ones that you loved scream in pain like they did... My brother was dead at this point but I could still hear my grandma so I went to her door and to my luck it opened.  
I pulled her out and laid her on the ground and patted the fire out, but I was too late.  
She was dead by the time I got all of the flames put out.  
I cried the hardest I had in a long time, but I couldn't forget about my grand papa.  
I ran over to him to check his pulse.  
He was dead too.  
I sat there alone, with my dead family.  
I passed out from what little injuries i had and the trauma.  
That was the worst day I ever had to live through."

Nuriko sighs sadly and says, "I can almost relate to you. My sister Korin was ran over by a horse and carriage. When they hit her, they didn't even stop to face what they had done. I went to check on her, and she was dead. That's why I decided I would become Korin. I dressed like a woman, acted like a woman, and liked men like a woman." He pulls Samantha back to look at her face and says, "You've changed that part about me though. I don't have to be like a woman to live for Korin. All I have to do is live my life. But don't tell Hotohori-sama or the others!" Nuriko laughs nervously. "I'm sure they would be happy just to know you are alive and living, Samantha," Nuriko says as he hugs her.

Samantha hugs back as she says," Yeah, but I don't think I can ever forget that day. When I hurt my hands it left scares. Every time I look at my hands I'm reminded of what happened and cry. You know lately I haven't thought about it because of you. For some reason I can't be sad around you and I'm very thankful for that. The pain that have been like a dark cloud because of the incident has gone away almost completely. I'm so happy for that, thank you so much, Nuriko."

Samantha pulls away to see his expression.

Nuriko looks down at her and slowly leans down and kisses her on the cheek. A blush slowly comes onto both of their faces as they both smile at each other. Nuriko leans down once more.

His lips are extremely close to hers and he is about to kiss her when Jessica comes storming in.

"Samantha you won't believe what happened!" Jessica yells while storming into the room.

Nuriko quickly pulls away causing Samantha to smack her head and think to herself," Every single time!"

Authors Note: Ok, sad right? I know, I was crying just writing it! But you have to love the funny moment at the end! Comment Please!


	10. Chapter 10

Authors Note!

If you are interested in reading the story or wanting to know what story I am working on at the moment and/ or when the next chapter is due or if it has been delayed, check my home page. There is a list of stories which I have or plan on created and I also have which ones I am working on at the moment, which chapter, and when they are due.

Please check on a weekly bases or whenever for updates. Thank you!


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